Toy piano



Patented Apr. 7, 1942 TOY PIANO Raymond J. Lohr, Erie, Pa., assignor to Louis Marx & Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 15, 1939, Serial No. 290,208

13 Claims.

This invention relates to toys, and particularly to toy pianos.

Toy pianos are already known in which keys are used to strike a Xylophone having metallic sounding plates, perhaps more properly termed a metallophone. The primary object of my invention isto generally improve toy pianos of this character. A more particular object is to provide a toy piano which is made lalmost Wholly of metal, but which sounds fully as good as, or even better than, a toy piano made of wood.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved and greatly simplified action between the keys and the metallophone, this action being so simplified as to completely eliminate the usual intermediate levers, and the like. Still another object is to improve the pivoting of the keys, and to provide a frictionless and inexpensive mounting making it very easy to assemble the keys in the piano during manufacture. sible low cost manufacture of the toy piano.

Another object of the invention is toprovide the piano with a book-top preferably containing well known childrens songs in simplified notation, the notes and keys preferably having corresponding numbers to facilitate playing of the piano by an untrained child. The book-top is a simulated piano top which may preferably be made to conform in outline to the configuration of the case of the piano, and which is pivoted so that it may be raised to a position which facilitates reading the music therein. The piano may also be provided with a pivotally mounted support which is adapted when in raised position to hold the book-top in its position of use, the arrangement being such that the support and the book-top may be folded down at on top of the piano when not in use.

The book-top construction is not claimed herein, it being claimed in my co-pending divisional application Serial No. 398,766, filed June 19, 1941, and entitled Toy piano.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing, and such other objects as Will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the toy piano elements and their relation one to the other, as hereinafter are more particularly described in the specification, and sought to be defined in the claims. The specification is accompanied by a drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the piano with the book-top in closed position;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view with the book-top in open position;

These objects all contribute to make pos- Fig. 3 is a section taken in elevation through the piano in the plane of the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary transverse section across the front of the piano taken in the plane of the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section over the top of one of the folding piano legs, and is taken in the plane of the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the construction of one of the keys with attached hammer; and

Fig. 7 is explanatory of a detail of the metallophone construction.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1, the piano, in the specific example here illustrated, simulates a grand or baby grand piano. It comprises a case C supported on legs L, and having a row of keys K at the front of the piano. The piano is provided with a top T which preferably conforms, in outline, to the configuration of the piano case. This top is, in reality, a book of music or songs. The top is pivoted at the front of the case and may be raised and supported in an angular position, such as that illustrated in Fig. 2. The book-top may then be opened to expose any one of the series of pages of music or songs therein.

Considering the construction in greater detail, and referring to the remaining figures of the drawing, the book-top comprises a front cover I2 and a back cover I4 which are preferably made of a single piece of cardboard folded at the middle to form a binding portion I6 at the left-hand edge of the book. A series of pages I8 are bound into the book, these preferably also being folded at the middle, and the assembly being stitched, stapled, or otherwise secured, in accordance with methods well known to binders. The book cover is free at the right-hand edge. The cover is slit at the binding for a short distance, thus also freeing the back cover at the lower end of the left-hand edge. These free edges are clamped by reversely folded flanges 20 at the ends of a mounting wall 22. The mounting wall extends across the piano from one side to the other, and may be a narrow strip, as shown, if the back cover I4 is stiff enough to be self-sustaining in shape. If the cover of the book is made of light material, the mounting wall 22 is preferably extended upwardly or widened to better support the book, and the left-hand edge of the book may be clamped at the top as well as at the bottom. The lower edge of mounting wall 22 is preferably flanged forwardly, as is indicated at 23, in order to provide a positive stop at the bottom edge of When the book-top is turned upwardly, it is supported in raised position, by means of a suitable top support. In the present case the support is a piece of wire 30, which is extended horizontally rearwardly at 32, then downwardly at 34, and then again bent horizontally at 38. The horizontal portion 32 acts as a pivot, it being received in a hole through a flange 3S on the top wall 42 of the piano case, and also being received in a bearing ear 4U which is struck downwardly from the top wall 42. of support 3i) are not essential, but are preferably added in order to provide detent means to hold the support 30 in upright position. Speciiically, the part 36 bears against the bottom wall 44 of the piano case when the support 3i! is in upright position. Referring to Fig. 4, it will be seen that bottom wall 44 is indented at 46 and 48 to form a detent which receives the part 36. Inasn'iuch as the bottom 44 of the piano case is somewhat resilient, it yields downwardly when the part 3S is forced between the indentations 46 and 48. It will be understood that the support 3u may be turned sidewardly to a horizontal position, the part 36 then being moved out of locking engagement with the bottom of the case and rising until it rests against the top wall 42. At this time the support 30 is in horizontal position and lies below the level of top wall 42, and therefore does not interfere with folding of the book-top fiat against the top of the piano case.

The mechanism or action of the piano is extremely simple. The keys K are short and are pivoted near their rear ends. The short rearward extensions 50 (Figs. 3 and 6) of the keys have strips of material 52 secured thereto. The strips are preferably long, slender springs in strip or ribbon form, and each has a hammer head 54 at its rear end. The hammer head 54 is preferably made of a short piece of metal rod, the upper end of which is rounded7 and the lower end of which is necked and riveted through a hole in the end of the spring. This provides a slightly weighty, upwardly directed hammer. The metallophone, generally designated M, ex-

tends across the piano from one side to the other and is disposed at a level higher than the row of keys K. The metallophone plates are located over the hammers, and it will be evident from inspection of Fig. 3, that on depressing any one of the keys the hammer 54 will be raised to strike the corresponding metallophone plate, as is indicated by the change in position from 52, 54 to 52", 54'. Because of the extremely light, springy nature of the springs 52, there is no interference with proper vibration of the metallophone plate, even if the key is held in depressed position. The keys K are preferably formed of sheet metal. Each key is made of a single piece of sheet metal which is bent downwardly at its edges to form a hollow key which is open at the bottom. The side edges B (Fig. 6) are upwardly notched at 58 to iit over a fulcrum strip 60 (Fig. 3) which extends from one side of the piano to the other. The fulcrum strip 60 is preferably L-shaped in section, and is secured in position by tongue and The portions 34 and 35 slot connections 62 at its ends which pass through the side walls of the piano case. It may be, and preferably is additionally secured in position by a plurality of tongue and slot connections formed at the bottom of the piano case, one of these being indicated at G4 in Fig. 3.

The fulcrum strip 60 is preferably notched slightly along its upper edge, as is indicated at 6B in Fig. 4. These notches may be small, but are desirable to locate the keys against sideward movement and to space the same somewhat apart. The keys are held on the iulcrum strip by a retainer strip 58, best shown in Fig. 3, the lower edge of said strip being disposed directly over the upper edge of fulcrum strip 60. The upper edge of retainer strip 6E may be turned rearwardly at 10 to stiien the same and to give the piano a more iinished appearance. The retainer strip is secured in position by tongue and slot connections 'l2 at the ends of the piano, the tongues l2 passing through the side walls of the piano case. Ii desired, the lower edge of retainer strip 68 may be provided with a strip of cushioning material 14, this preferably being a length of small diameter tubular material which is longitudinally slit to be received over the lower edge of the retainer strip. The material may be rubber coated fabric, such as the so-called spaghetti often used for electric insulating purposes.

The metallophone itself is generally conventional, but the manner in which the metallophone plates are supported deserves mention. The plates are supported on two diverging strips, as is conventional, but these strips are in the present case formed of sheet metal which is bent to L-shaped configuration with the horizontal part on top, as is best shown at 16 in Fig. 3. The ends of these strips are secured between the side walls of the piano case by appropriate tongue and slot connections 18. A series of T-shaped lugs 8l) are struck upwardly from the strips 16, as is best shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 7. The T- shaped lugs are received in holes 82 struck through the ends of the metallophone plates, these holes having slots 84 which are dimensioned to receive the T-shaped lugs 80, but which are normally disposed perpendicular to the T- shaped lugs. Thus, the metallophone may be initially assembled by twisting the lugs BIJ, following which the plates are held loosely, as they should be, but are incapable of falling out of position if the piano is turned upside down. The lugs need be twisted at only one end, for at the other end the entire plate may be orientated to receive the lug.

The forward ends of spring 52 are preferably secured to the keys in the following manner. The rear end wall 86 (Fig. 6) of each key is slotted to receive the spring 52, and the tcp wall is perforated to receive an eyelet 8B. The end of the spring is passed through the slot into the hollow interior of the key, and is then eyeletted against the top wall of the key by means of the eyelet BB.

Inasmuch as the piano is made entirely of sheet metal, it is desirable to provide several buiTer strips made of fibrous material, such as fabric or felt. One such strip of material is indicated at 9D in Figs, 8 and 4, this strip extending beneath the keys and preventing any metallic sound resulting from the lower edge of the key striking the bottom of the piano. Another such strip is indicated at $2 in Figs. 3 and 4, this strip extending over the bottom of the piano beneath the hammer 54. The strip is held in place by a number of tongues 94 which are struck upwardly from the bottom 44 of the piano. Strip 92 acts as a cushion and sound absorbing medium to prevent any metallic sound when a piano key is released and the hammer falls against the bottom of the piano. Finally, strips 96 are preferably disposed on top of the metallophone supports 16. These may consist merely of heavy strands of Wool yarn which are run along the tops of the strips.

The legs L, of the piano, are preferably arranged to fold up against the bottom of the piano for more compact packaging, this being a matter of greater convenience during storage and shipment of the toy. Referring to Fig. 3, each leg is formed of a, main piece of sheet metal which is longitudinally folded four times to form a hollow leg of square section. The seam, where the'edges of the metal meet, is preferably disposed at the inside of the leg, as is indicated at in Fig. 3. At its lower end, extensions of the metal are turned inwardly, as is indicated at |02 to partially close the bottom end of the leg. At its upper end the leg is secured to a small top plate |04, the parts being attached by means of bent tongue and slot connections |06. Top plate |04 is provided with a, pair of extensions or tongues |08 (Fig. 5) which are bent or curled to form hinge sleeves. These are received on hinge pins ||0 which are formed by providing the bottom 44 of the piano with a pair of closely adjacent collateral slots ||2. The material, between slots ||2, acts as the hinge pin ||0. At its opposite end the tcp plate |04 is provided with another extension or tongue |4 which is so shaped as to act as a spring detent. It cooperates with a guide lug ||6 struck downwardly from the bottom 44 of the piano. It will be evident, on study of the drawing, that with this construction the legs may be folded inwardly from the solid line position to the broken line position ||8.

The legs are preferably so mounted as to be folded in different directions. For example, the rear leg ||8 may fold forwardly, as shown at ||8, while the front legs may fold sidewardly inwardly toward one another. In the present case the rear leg ||8 folds forwardly and the front leg |20 folds rearwardly, while the front leg |22 folds sidewardly, as is indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2. This folding of the legs in different direction is not at all essential, but is somewhat desirable in order to help add stability when the legs are in use. The legs, of course, clear one another when folded and thus minimize the size of the carton needed to box the piano.

The case of the piano may be assembled out of pieces of sheet metal patterned in a number of ways, but I prefer the method of assembly here illustrated. The bottom 44 is a single, large piece of sheet metal, the front edge of which is folded upwardly at |24 (Fig. 3) and rearwardly at |26 to form a suitable ledge at the keyboard. The bottom 44 is provided with extensions at its ends which are folded upwardly to form the straight side walls |28 and |39. These are preferably turned inwardly at the top to form flanges |3I. The curved or contoured rear edge of bottom wall 44 is flanged upwardly for a short distance at |32, as is shown in Fig. 3.

The rear wall of the piano consists of' a separate strip of sheet metal |34 which is readily bent to the desired curved outline. It is secured to bottom wall 44 within flange |32 by appropriate bent tongue and slot connections, one of which is indicated at |36. Its ends are secured to the side walls |28 and |30 Aby bent tongue and slot connections |38. The case is completed by the top wall 42, the curved periphery of which is downwardly flanged at |40. The top wall is secured to the side Wall |34 by bent tongue and slot connections |42. The top wall 42 preferably terminates well behind the front edge of the piano in order to provide plenty of room for sound egress. In the present case, it terminates at the flange 38 which is disposed approximately over the middle of the metallophone. The key retaining strip 68, which finishes the front of the piano case, has already been described.

It is believed that the construction and operation, as well as the many advantages of my improved toy piano will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description thereof. It will also be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, many changes and modifications may .be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as sought to be defined in the following claims.

In the claims the term metallophone is intended to also include a Xylophone and like equivalents. The reference in some claims to the piano case simulating a baby grand piano is intended to include a simulation of a grand piano and intermediate variations.

I claim:

1. A toy piano comprising a row of simulated piano keys, a metallophone extending across said piano, a slender spring wire secured directly to each key, a hammer head at the end of each spring wire, the parts being so arranged that depression of a key causes the hammer to strike a corresponding metallophone plate.

2. A toy piano comprising a case, a keyboard including a row of pivoted simulated piano keys at the front of said case, a metallophone extending across said piano from side to side at a level higher than the keyboard, a strip of material secured directly to and extending rearwardly from each key to a point beneath the metallophone, and a hammer head at the end of each strip, whereby depression of a key causes the hammer to rise and strike a corresponding metallophone plate.

3. A toy piano comprising a case simulating a baby grand piano, a keyboard including a row of pivoted simulated piano keys at the front of said case, a metallophone extending across said piano from side to side at a level higher than the keyboard, a slender leaf spring secured directly to and extending rearwardly from each key to a point beneath the metallophone, and an upwardly pointed metallic hammer head at the end of each spring, said spring and head constituting a hammer, whereby depression of a key causes the hammer to strike a corresponding metallophone plate, said key being restored by the weight of the hammer.

4. A toy piano comprising a row of simulated keys, a fulcrum strip for the keys extending from one side of the piano to the other, each key being notched upwardly to t around the upper edge of the fulcrum strip, and a continuous retainer strip above the keys to hold the keys on the fulcrum strip.

5. A toy piano comprising a row of simulated keys, each key being a hollow sheet metal part which is open downwardly, a fulcrum strip for the keys extending from one side of the piano to the other, the longitudinal or side walls of each key being notched upwardly to iit around the upper edge of the fulcrum strip, a retainer strip extending from one side of the piano to the other directly above said keys, said retainer strip functioning to hold the keys on the fulcrum strip.

6. A toy piano comprising a piano case, a keyboard at the front of the piano comprising a row of simulated keys, each key being a hollow sheet metal part which is open downwardly, a fulcrum strip for the keys extending from one side of the piano to the other, the longitudinal or side walls of each key being notched upwardly to t around the upper edge of the fulcrum strip, the top edge of the fulcrum strip being notched to hold the keys against sideward movement, a retainer strip extending from one side of the piano to the other directly above said keys with its lower edge in substantially the saine plane as the ulcrum strip, said retainer strip functioning to hold the keys on the fulcrum strip.

7. A toy piano comprising a piano case, a keyboard at the front of the piano comprising a row of simulat-ed keys, a fulcrum strip for the keys extending from one side of the piano to the other, each key being notched upwardly to fit around the upper edge of the ulcrum strip, a retainer strip extending from one side of the piano to the other directly above said keys, said retainer strip functioning to hold the keys on the fulcrum strip, a metallophone extending across seid piano from side to side at a level higher than the keyboard, a strip oi material secured directly to and extending rearwardly from each key, and a hammer head on each strip, hereby depression of a key causes the hammer to strike a corresponding metallophone plate.

8. A toy piano comprising a piano case, a keyboard at the front of the piano comprising a row of simulated keys, each key being a hollow sheet metal part which is open downwardly, a fulcrum strip for the keys extending from one side of the piano to the other, the longitudinal or side walls of each key being notched upwardly to nt around the upper edge of the fulcrum strip, a retainer strip extending from one side of the piano to the other directly above said keys, said retainer strip functioning to hold the keys on the fulcrum strip, a metallophone extending across said piano from side to side at a level higher than the keyboard, a slender leaf spring secured to and extending rearwardly from each key to a point 1beneath the metallophone, and an upward-- ly pointed metallic hammer head at the end of each spring, said spring and head constituting a hammer, whereby depression of a key causes the hammer to strike a corresponding metallophone plate, said key being restored by the weight of the hammer.

9. A toy piano comprising a piano case made of sheet metal and simulating a baby grand piano, metallophone extending across the inside of said case, a row of simulated piano keys with associated mechanism to strike the metallophone,

said case comprising a single large piece of sheet meta-l bent upwardly and then rearwardly at the front edge to form a ledge at the keyboard, said piece having a narrow edge flange bent upwardly, a strip of sheet metal bent to form the rear edge of the case, and a cover wall secured at the top of said rear wall.

l0. A toy piano comprising a piano case made ol sheet metal, a metallophone support strip extending from one side wall to the other, said strip having a series of lugs struck upwardly therefrom, a series of metallophone plates extending across said strip and having holes which loosely receive said lugs.

ll. A toy piano comprising a piano case made of sheet metal and simulating a baby grand piano, said case comprising a single large piece of sheet metal bent upwardly and then rearwardly at the front edge to form a ledge at the keyboard, a strip oi sheet metal bent to form the rear edge or the case, a cover wall secured at the top of said rear, a fulcrum strip extending from one side wall to the other beneath the keys, a retainer strip extending from one side wall to the other above the keys and fulcrum strip, a metallophone support strip extending from one side wall to the other, said strip having a series of lugs struck upwardly therefrom, a series of metallophone plates extending across said strip and having holes which loosely receive the lugs.

l2. A toy piano comprising a case simulating a baby grand piano, a keyboard including a row oi pivoted simulated piano keys at the iront ol said case, a metallophone extending across said piano from side to side at a level higher than the keyboard, a strip or material secured directly to and extending rearwardly from each key to a point beneath the metallophone, and an upwardly pointed hammer head at the end of each strip, said strip `and head constituting a hammer, whereby depression oi a key causes the hammer to strike a corresponding metallophone plate, said key being restored by the weight of the hammer.

13. A toy piano comprising a piano case, a keyboard at the front of the piano comprising a row of simulated keys, each key being a hollow sheet metal part which is open downwardly, a fulcrum strip for the keys extending from one side of the piano to the other, the longitudinal or side walls of each key being notched upwardly to fit around the upper edge oi the fulcrum strip, a retainer strip extending from one side of the piano te the other directly above said keys, said retainer strip functioning to hold the keys on the fulcrum strip, a metallophone extending across said piano from side to side at a level higher than the keyboard, a strip of material secured to and extending rearwardly from each key to a point beneath the metallophone, and an upwardly pointed hammer head at the end of each strip, said strip and head constituting a hammer, whereby depression of a key causes the hammer to strike a corresponding metallophone plate, said key being restored by the Weight of the hammer.

RAYMOND J. LOHR. 

